Musician Suing Thunder's Durant Over "Durantula" Trademark

A trademark lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in federal court in Chicago against Thunder F Kevin Durant, Nike and Panini America for “unfairly infringing musician Mark Durante's trademark DURANTULA by using that nickname on items like basketballs and photographs and in shoe campaigns, including one that features a cartoon superhero named Durantula,” according to Erin Geiger Smith of REUTERS. The guitarist has been “known on stage as ‘Durantula’ since the 1980s, a persona he officially trademarked in 2010.” Durante has “released albums under the name Durantula and has maintained the website durantula.com for more than 10 years.” However, Durante’s suit is “no slam dunk,” as it “might be difficult to show that anyone would confuse a 23-year-old basketball phenom with a middle-aged rocker, especially since Durante's officially registered mark is for uses related to music and accompanying promotional items.” Nike, Panini and Durant's agent at Landmark Sports Agency did not comment on the suit (REUTERS, 6/21).